[The Dawntreader]

2005 AO SF. If only for the incredible intensity in the third set. Generally the level of play was rather scrappy, but accentuated by the drama.

Charleston was ok, but Serena absolutely demolished her in the 3rd. I think she only conceded 9 points.

[MrsColinKaep]

Originally Posted by Williamsova

Watching Maria battle to preserve her dignity at the AO or Olympics finals trumps these choices.

Of the four listed it's gotta be 2005 AO SF, that was a classic. I wish this poll was public so we could see who voted otherwise(mainly 2004 YEC F which was a mediocre match that ended on very bad terms ) just for the kikis. I'm sure like in the Peak Venus vs. Peak Pova thread their names all contain "Masha" "Shara" or "Pova"

[Serenita]

Originally Posted by shoryuken

Indeed the Goddess of Tennis saving all those MPs.

Yes this was my favorite out of the list. But best kick ass beat down, OZZY 07

[MrProdigy555]

Originally Posted by shoryuken

Indeed the Goddess of Tennis saving all those MPs.

Yas!

[JamieOwen3]

I've told this in the player forum a few times.

AO 2005 SF as it's the match that made me a complete Maria fan, I already liked her before that but in a growing on me sort of way. She had my respect for what she had done in 2004. Winning that 2005 AO SF could have given her a big head *Teen Maria just didn't give a fuck and was a lot more in your face than current Maria * she took the loss as well as anyone could have at 17 that showed maturity there. It was endearing to me and it was like a light switch

On top of that Serena had won *at the time it was late in the morning in the UK and I stayed up to watch. Had raw fingertips at the end and woke my parents up when I did a Lakeisha and screamed "YESSSS".



Which led to my dad storming down stairs and literally used these words *this gif is perfect*

[Sund7101]

2005 AO Semifinal for sure. That match would change their rivalry, well not really a rivalry anymore, forever. What a gutsy performance from Serena! Coming up with the shots that she did to save match points was really incredible. I think Sharapova is still haunted by that match when she plays against Serena.

[Geisha]

Originally Posted by dsanders06

No. The YEC 2004 match was MUCH higher-quality than the AO2005 match. Both finished the match with good W-UE ratios in the YEC (compared to both having deeply negative ratios in the AO match). The 3rd set of their YEC match was particularly fantastic -- even though Serena had no serve, off the ground she was playing vintage "Shock and Awe" tennis, but Maria managed to overcome it by digging INCREDIBLY deep and playing far more absorbing rallies than anything the AO match produced. The AO match was a shitfest as both were well below good form all tournament (Maria lost a set to Farina Elia at that tournament iirc and barely scraped past Kuznetsova in the QFs). It was an entertaining match because of the intensity and what was at stake, but the quality was atrocious.

Anyway, it's a shame these two have only played 2 matches where they were both somewhere near their best (their YEC matches in 2004 and 2012 -- the former being Maria's A game vs Serena's B game, the latter being Serena's A-game versus Maria's B-game). Hopefully at some point they both bring their A-games against eachother

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FROM START TO FINISHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LMAO

[Smitten]

the latter being Serena's A-game versus Maria's B-game

death

I almost choked and died.

[Atlicznie]

Originally Posted by shoryuken

Indeed the Goddess of Tennis saving all those MPs.

That's what I'm talking about

[Shuji Shuriken]

It happened this year on the green grass of Wimbledon. Thing is, no one was wearing all white. Go figure

[i.will2]

Originally Posted by shoryuken

Indeed the Goddess of Tennis saving all those MPs.

This is the point that I vividly remember watching. Serena was down match point and I just hoped Sharapova didn't have an ace coming. She won this point and from that moment I KNEW she was going to win. She hasn't looked back since then hahahaha

[MrProdigy555]

Originally Posted by i.will2

This is the point that I vividly remember watching. Serena was down match point and I just hoped Sharapova didn't have an ace coming. She won this point and from that moment I KNEW she was going to win. She hasn't looked back since then hahahaha

I love Serena's expressions.

[harloo]

Originally Posted by shoryuken

Indeed the Goddess of Tennis saving all those MPs.

Wow, I still remember watching this match live and at this point I thought Serena would lose. Then she saved all those match points and for the first time(during the match) Maria looked visibly shaken. She was so confident and playing in peak form but when Serena saved those match point it broke her spirit. From that point on, I knew Serena would beat her but I never thought she would go on a streak against Maria for years to come.

[Mightymirza]

The one over Dimitrov?

[Monzanator]

There were never any battles. Serena spanked Maria's butt every time she actually wanted to The only matches which didn't feature a bagel were because Serena didn't give a damn and played at 0,00000333 % or was injured.